This site requires JavaScript. To ensure you can use all the features please enable it.

We use cookies on this website.
By continuing to use this site without changing your cookie settings,
you agree that you are happy to accept our privacy policy
and for us to access our cookies on your device.

WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 141 [Main Title]

Summary: An edition of the British official newsreel "War Pictorial News", produced by the Ministry of Information, Middle East.

Description: I. 'GUNNERS OF HINDUSTAN.' An item that covers the equipment and training of Indian Army artillery units. A large antique cannon is displayed on a plinth on a street in Lahore (Punjab) as civilians go about their daily business. Antique flintlock pistols and a blunderbuss are displayed as the commentary makes the point that the Indian artillery arm has come along way since the setting up of training schemes and new workshops in 1939. An Indian physical training instructor leads a detachment of anti-aircraft gunners through a series of physical jerks, Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft guns are evident in the background. An Indian anti-aircraft team run to an Ordnance 3.7-in anti-aircraft gun and rangefinder. A Sikh gunner removes the cover from the muzzle of a Bofors gun. A Bofors gun is moved into a static position, its Dunlop tyres are removed and its cruciform stand is fitted. The gun is elevated with good "aiming" views through its three sights visible. The commentary highlights the contribution of the Indian gunners in the battles of the Western Desert over stock shots of an artillery barrage and a knocked-out German PzKpfw II Ausf B tank. Sikh anti-tank gunners fire Ordnance QF 2-pounder guns at unseen targets.
II. 'HOSPITAL TOY MAKERS.' Convalescent British and Commonwealth troops make stuffed animals in military hospital in Egypt. Various views of the troops cutting and stitching leather are shown along with the impressive finished product. The commentary states that such occupational therapy, the brainchild of a Miss Bramwell, is useful in the development of mobility for wounded limbs.
III. 'DEMON PILOTS OF AUSTRALIA.' Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots of 54 Squadron relax at the dispersal on Night Cliff airfield near Darwin in Australia. Fighter kill tallies are painted on the fuselage of a Supermarine Spitfire Mk VC fighter aircraft. A close up of The 54 Squadron badge is also shown. Various views of 54 Squadron members displaying their many animal mascots follows. RAF armourers prepare 20mm cannon ammunition for later use. RAF Supermarine Spitfire Mk VC aircraft make low level passes to camera. A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Commonwealth Air Corporation (CAC) Boomerang aircraft is shown in flight as the commentary introduces this new fighter, an indigenous product of the Australian aircraft industry. The Boomerang is put through its paces in a demonstration of aerobatics and inverted flying. Australian troops inspect damaged Imperial Japanese Naval Air Force Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero-Sen fighters and a Mitsubishi Ki-21-II twin engined bomber.
IV. 'RUSSIA.' Panoramic views of snow covered terrain are shown. Russian infantry stand at readiness behind the cover of an emplacement made from snow. Russian infantry wearing snow camouflage uniforms advance across railway track during an attack on an enemy-held town in the Southern sector of the Russian Front. Russian infantry carrying Pistolet-Pulemyot Shpagina obr 1941g 7.62mm sub-machine guns, congregate together for a smoke during a lull in the fighting. T-34/76D tank crews have a final briefing prior to an attack as tank descent infantry climb onto the hulls of the tanks. Snow camouflaged Russian infantry manhandle a Stankovy Pulemyot Maksima obr 1910g heavy machine gun (Sokolov carriage) across railway tracks. A Russian radio telephone cable-laying team sprint across the snow, unfurling cable as they go. Russian women cook from makeshift stoves in a shell damaged Russian town. Other civilians attempt to identify Russian dead left by the retreating enemy forces. Russian troops march past a snow covered T-70 light tank. The crew of a Russian T-34/76D tank prepare to get underway. T-34/76B and T-34/76D tanks drive through snow covered terrain, cheered on by Russian infantry. The commentary states that as the men of the Red Army sweep westwards across their stricken land, they will neither forgive nor forget.